Effects of sorghum starch type, endosperm hardness, and processing on digestibility and growth performance in finishing pigs and chicks

Abstract

In finishing pigs, waxy sorghum had lower digestibilities for DM and GE than the other genotypes. Also, the hard sorghums were more digestible (P<.06) than the medium hardness sorghum. In broiler chicks, the waxy sorghum was similar to the other genotypes for growth performance and nutrient digestibility. The soft sorghum was superior to the medium and hard genotypes for nutrient retention but not for growth performance. Fine grinding improved F/G and increased retention of nutrients and steam-flaked sorghum supported greater growth performance than extruded sorghum.